Who deserves more minutes?

Every day there seems to be a new thread about why this guy deserves to be playing more than this other guy, so I figured why not take a single assessment and see where people lie. I've not included the starts or Jose (defacto-starter for now) even though many would argue that JV is the guy they want to see more of.

For me, it is a tough 3 way call between Amir, Ed Davis and Terrance Ross, but in the end I'm going to say Ed Davis. I really like Amir's game, but his minutes have been more consistent than ED and I am very curious to find out what we have in ED. I do want to see more Ross too, but since it is early in his rookie campaign, I can be more patient, but Davis is reaching the point in his career where we need to know what we have.

Ed has been cheated for minutes, and when its Aaron gray or Kleiza coming in at the 4 or Bargs shooting bricks, Ed HAS to see floor time. Especially since I think there is a new attitude about him this season, Id even suggest starting him with Val, and have Amir + Bargs come with Calderon off the bench. Just to see what he could do. I think if we started Ed now, he would get for us a double double every night.

There are too many choices in this poll. It would be a sensible question by position, but you're comparing apples and oranges here. I think Ed Davis should see more time, and agree with the idea of starting him and Val to bring on Amir, Calderone and Bargnani as a second unit that should be able to score like crazy against the other team's subs. Demar and Lowry should be enough to handle the scoring in the early going if ED and Val hit the boards hard. It'd be nice to have a scoring wing. As I've said a few times before, why not start Kleiza. I bet there are a few teams out there that would, just to see how he responded.

Considering our record, I don't see why Casey doesn't experiment a little bit, as long as Lowry and DeRozan are starting. Calderone works well with Amir; Amir is redundant with ED; Fields has been awful; MacGuire has been less than impressive; Bargs has been a defensive liability against other teams' starters. Why not start ED and Kleiza and try to rely on DeRozan and Lowry for scoring in the early going? Those two seem to get most of the early shots anyway. or, at least, it seems to usually take Bargnani a while to heat up. It makes sense to me.

I think at this stage where the Raptors are right now, i dont think its a matter of who deserves minutes, but rather what the team's goal is, the minutes should be based on.

And obviously, the team is no contender, and based on the 7 games, probably not even a playoff team. IMO, the younger players or who the team sees as the "future core" should get more minutes. DD, JV, Ross, Lowry, Bargnani, Fields, Gray, Ed, JL3 maybe even Acy should get a lot if not the majority of the minutes.

If you're aiming at guys in the same positions, then JV over Gray, Ross over AA, JL3 over Jose, Ed over Amir.

If they can't get T. Ross in the game with both Fields and Anderson injured then they should send him down to the D-League so he can atleast get some play time and get his confidence up. Sitting on the bench is no way for a rookie to learn how to adapt their college game to the NBA.

If they can't get T. Ross in the game with both Fields and Anderson injured then they should send him down to the D-League so he can atleast get some play time and get his confidence up. Sitting on the bench is no way for a rookie to learn how to adapt their college game to the NBA.

That makes a lot of sense actually. Call him back up once [more] injuries take their toll.

I think at this stage where the Raptors are right now, i dont think its a matter of who deserves minutes, but rather what the team's goal is, the minutes should be based on.

And obviously, the team is no contender, and based on the 7 games, probably not even a playoff team. IMO, the younger players or who the team sees as the "future core" should get more minutes. DD, JV, Ross, Lowry, Bargnani, Fields, Gray, Ed, JL3 maybe even Acy should get a lot if not the majority of the minutes.

If you're aiming at guys in the same positions, then JV over Gray, Ross over AA, JL3 over Jose, Ed over Amir.

Agree 100%, aside from JLIII. I don't think he's part of the future, given he only has 1 more year on his contract and is already 29 (will turn 30 later this month).

The young guys who are/could be part of the core (or need to be showcased to increase trade value) and have been invested in (ie: either via contract or drafted) should get playing time, not scrubs who definitely aren't part of the long-term future of this team, especially in a season that is looking more and more lost by the game.

If anyone here plays chess they will know the term "compensation". Right now, the Raps are in a position where they are playing to win games (stated goal of the organization this year) but they are actually losing games and there doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.

My question is this: what's the compensation for losing games?

It's highly unlikely that they will get a lottery pick. They won't have much, if any, cap room to play with in the offseason. So, to me, the compensation should be that although they are losing, they are doing so with Valanciunas, Ross, Derozan and Lowry. Instead, they are losing games with Aaron Gray, Dominic McGuire, Landry Fields, Linas Kleiza, John Lucas, etc. In other words, a whole bunch of players irrelevant to the future.

Play the rooks. At least then, if you lose, you are developing pieces for the future rather than just sacrificing your position for nothing, which was the story the last two seasons here.

If anyone here plays chess they will know the term "compensation". Right now, the Raps are in a position where they are playing to win games (stated goal of the organization this year) but they are actually losing games and there doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.

My question is this: what's the compensation for losing games?

It's highly unlikely that they will get a lottery pick. They won't have much, if any, cap room to play with in the offseason. So, to me, the compensation should be that although they are losing, they are doing so with Valanciunas, Ross, Derozan and Lowry. Instead, they are losing games with Aaron Gray, Dominic McGuire, Landry Fields, Linas Kleiza, John Lucas, etc. In other words, a whole bunch of players irrelevant to the future.

Play the rooks. At least then, if you lose, you are developing pieces for the future rather than just sacrificing your position for nothing, which was the story the last two seasons here.

Agree. And who knows, they might win. Ross and JV were high picks and have been winners in their young careers. Unlike the other ones you've mentioned, who are either coming back from Europe, undrafted or waived. Sounds unfair, but thats how it is.